Watch: Meadow the Great Dane gives birth to 15 puppies in North Carolina, becomes media star

This Great Dane is now a great dame.

Meadow, a Great Dane about 2½ years old, gave birth to 15 puppies on Oct. 10, the largest litter ever for Perfectly Imperfect Pups, a foster-based rescue service in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Before having the litter, Meadow lived an uneven existence — something shelter founder and director Nicole Kincaid hopes is in the canine's past.

"She has been passed around to five homes" since giving birth to another litter in February, Kincaid told USA TODAY. "She was being given away on social media and we reached out but unfortunately they gave her away pregnant to someone else."

That person then called Perfectly Imperfect Pups to report that Meadow wasn't getting along with their dogs and the rescue could take her.

"Two days later, she gave birth to 15 pups," she said.

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Is Meadow a record-setting mom?

In case you were wondering whether Meadow set any records beyond the shelter, her litter falls a bit short. A 2-year-old Great Dane from Virginia nearly set a world record after giving birth to almost two dozen puppies this past spring.

A Neapolitan mastiff named Tia currently holds the Guinness World Record for largest litter with 24 pups born in 2004.

Still, Meadow has been a media darling, getting coverage from local TV stations, People magazine and other outlets, which has led to a lot of interest in adopting Meadow and her puppies.

"We have had people reach out about adopting and we do hope the excitement lasts another seven weeks because we do not adopt puppies or Mama out until the puppies are 8 weeks," Kincaid said.

For now, one of Perfectly Imperfect Pups' foster homes is looking after Meadow and the pups. The foster mom "is supplement feeding in between feedings to make sure all puppies are getting food," Kincaid said.

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The importance of fostering

Kincaid commended the home fostering Meadow, saying in a news release that her agency "is so proud of our foster parents. They take in dogs without knowing what the next few days or months could bring."

"Taking in a pregnant dog is even more of a challenge because you don’t always know when Mom will give birth, how many puppies will be born, or what complications may come along," she said. "It makes me so sad that Meadow had such an unsteady past, being bounced around is no life for a dog."

She continued to say that she's thrilled Meadow is with the rescue, and that "this will be her last litter and her next home will be her forever home.”

Feeding and caring for 15 puppies and a mom takes not just time but money. If you want to help out, Perfectly Imperfect Pups has created an Amazon Wishlist for needed items and products. You can also donate here by searching for Perfectly Imperfect Pups.

Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider & mikegsnider.

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